Beyonce Heat perfume

Oh oh oh Beyonce.

I have wanted to own Beyonce's Heat for a long time. And then my mum bought this for me some time last autumn to give to me for my bday/xmas but then she misplaced it. But finally she stumbled across it and I got my hands on it. Woo hoo? No. Boo hoo.

I'ts all right but it's not wow. I thought it would be warm and sexy, a bit sweet and spicy. And it probably is for about 2 minutes and then it's gone.

I've got the 100ml bottle and I've been using it for maybe 2 weeks and I'm already half way through. With my lack of smell I need something strong and long lasting. Maybe this has a better scent for someone with a normal nose but  I'm just going to use it up as quickly as possible and never get this again.

Perfume haul

Hi guys!

Just a very quick post because I haven't even unwrapped these yet but I also got two perfumes as part of my new year present.

My mum likes to bulk buy (who does that remind us of?!) and she's been hiding Heat by Beyonce for ages to give me for 2014 and now she can't find it...so lucky me I ended up with Alien and Flowerbomb instead :)

I'm excited to try Alien because reviews suggest it's my kind of scent. I know that people love Flowerbomb but not to sure if it's my thing....but I'll enjoy using it all the same. I hope everyone is having a great 2014 so far. I cannot believe it's February already!!!

Mini beauty bits haul

Hi Guys,

A while ago I picked up some bits that I thought that I would share with you all.

First up is a repurchase of my favourite 'budget' perfume - Intimately. This is my 7th bottle maybe? I got this from The Perfume Shop, £14.99 for 75ml - you can get this for under £12 online (try Fragrance Direct). Throughout the summer I was searching for a summer smell but I was unsuccessful and it's September now so I've just stuck with my fail safe fragrance. 

The next few bits I picked up from my favourite shop, the 99p store - needless to say, these cost me 99p each (BARGAIN!!!)

You can imagine that after my hair bleaching marathon my hair is a tad bit dry - I saw this on the shelves and thought I would give it a go. I'm not too fussy with conditioner as I don't apply it to my scalp so no negative skin reactions to worry about. I haven't given this a go yet - if it's amazing I'll give you an update. 

Having a love hate relationship with the face wash. Hating it because potentially it's too drying for me; but that's my fault for buying an oil free exfoliator/foaming scrub. So anyway, the good stuff - this leaves my face feeling nice and fresh - what more could you ask for from a face wash?! The scrubby bits aren't too harsh and the washy bit foams up easily. 

Last but not least - the oh so glamorous anti dandruff shampoo. The change in weather is playing havoc with my skin.  My face, ears ad hair are suffering the most. I don't have dandruff as such, but my scalp is really dry so I thought this might help? This is a repurchase and I like it because I find it more gentle than head and shoulders - not sure if this is actually true but it's ok and it's 99p so yay!

When I was younger the change is weather didn't really affect me and I used the same products all year round. Now I'm finding myself having to 'switch up' my shiz as my skin is an oil slick one day and then dessert dry the next. Annoying and costly. Oh well #firstworldproblems !!! Any recommendations for dry skin? 

Another celeb scent - Kate Moss

My latest celeb perfume courtesy of mummy/santa claus. Mummy said that I like pink perfumes which on reflection is true!

I wore this a few times before my nose was working but I received compliments and a common comment was roughly "it smells the way I expect you to smell".....which means I dunno but....

...the negative reviews of Kate say that it is a cheap and teenager type smell (which I wouldn't consider a compliment) but...

....the positive reviews say this is a young and sweet girly smell, so I hope that is what people mean lol

I've only had this since Christmas but as you can see from the photo I've already hit the half way mark!

[ABOVE: Stunning by Katie Price, Kate by Kate Moss and Intimately by Victoria Beckham)]

So that a trio of celeb scents I now own and I love them all. I think with perfume you can't diss them until you've tried them.

I smell Posh

Hi Guys!

A product rave/repurchase post.

I've just finished my bottle of the Beckham's intimately perfume and repurchased another one. I can't really smell it and hav eno idea if I smell posh or not lol but from the times I've caught a whiff it is 'nice' and I have had compliments on it so can't be too bad.
And it's a bargain! Was £14.99 for 75ml from perfume shop online!

Retail Therapy

I've been wanting this for a while, and I am embarrassed about this but whatever, I am the proud owner of the perfume, 'Stunning' by Katie Price.

Now, you may be wondering about how and why an anosmic would be want want wanting a perfume; basically I read a review that Stunning was a dupe for Miss Dior Cherie and I wanted me some of that. But of course, I don't know what Miss Dior Cherie smells like either lol So basically I am a sheep following a cloud of perfume :)

I got a good deal, 50ml for £19.99 (30ml would have cost £18.99!!) from The Perfume Shop. And initially I nearly had a heart attack when I opened the box to have a spray because the nozzle thing came off and I couldn't get it on for ages and then pop! problem solved, spray spraying yay yaaaaay! Not sure if I like it or not; I can't make out the 'notes' but I can sense that it is really sweet, hopefully not sickenly so!

I have also just right this minute finished purchasing another perfume, this time from the online The Perfume Shop as the actual store did not have this in stock....Intimately Beckham. A absolute steal at £14.99 for 75ml!!! Again, not really sure what it smells like but my friend at work carries this round in her handbag and she seems the sort who smells nice and like nice smells lol Very excited to have this.

I also brought 2 black eyeliners from a little market stall, £3.50 for both. Not the best quality (swatched it on the black of my hand) but for that price, I can't complain! And I needed some eyeliner to just dump in my handbag so yay!

I got the coolest handbags from Primarni when I went to Romford with SF but argh no mobile no blog photos :( My new phone has a camera, 1.3megapixels (!) but no lead to load onto my laptop.....any ideas?

Consequently,that basically means that this blog will have no pictures until at least march 9th :( I'm sad because I enjoy taking the pics and blogging about them.

Well, I smell good and I feel a bit happie; I hope you smell good and you are happy to this weekend lol xoxo

8 Most Worn Things

Still can't be bothered to do a formal introduction. What I have decided to do today instead is a typed 8 Most Worn Things (as opposed to a video).

I like to watch make-up tutorials on line, and a lot of the beauty guru's have been doing a '8 Most Worn Things' tag.

Anyways......

Most Worn Lipstick - Gosh Darling. It's a nude lipstick. I probably look dead wearing it but i love it. It took me ages to find it and it is such an easy colour to wear (nothing clashes with the zombie face) and the formulation is nice and smooth. Prior to owning this my answer would have been the infamous Barry M 'Marshmallow' (101) but I personally find it difficult to wear because it is drying, and so i look dead and flaky. Not good. I think most of the marshmallow fans layer some lipgloss on the top but i don't like lipgloss becasue a) it makes me feel self conscious b) i keep eating it.

Most Worn Earrings - I do not wear earrings. I tend to not wear jewellry at all. The only piece of jewellry I do wear is a pearl necklace given to me by my auntie for my graduation, but i wear it double on my wrist. I like it becasue it's very feminine, and it makes a statement without being in=your-face. The reason why I don't wear jewellry and favour pearls is because I am allergic to most metals so if I do wear jewellry I start getting spuffy/patchy/itchy/oozy. Nice (!)

Most Worn shirt/top - Well, when I'm hanging around my flat I love to wear my I heart NY tee shirt. I have an oversize one in classic white, and then a huge one in baby pink and i wear either with leggings and my pretend uggs, messy hair. I did wear my white one out once when i jsut got back from NYC but I was getting weird looks, I don't think Upton Park were getting my look. When I am at work, my most worn top is definitely my black and white polka dot shirt from Dorothy Perkins. It's the cutest top and whenever I wear it I feel happy. It's also the top I bought and wore to the interview so I guess that's why I attach happy feelings to it (yeah I've had the top for a year now, a buton popped off last week - time for the graveyard soon). It's capped sleeved with a bid, the necklace has a slight frill and it has 3/4 buttons down the bid. Becasue it doesn't button down all the way it's a good shape for me as my big belly is not fighting with the buttons. My favourite other work 'top' would be anyone of my merino cardigans. Despite the handwash pain I love love love my merino cardigans. I have 1 (or 5) of every colour, in both the womens and mens style.

Most Worn Nail Polish - In general, I would simply say fire engine red. No particular brand as I have about 10 in loads of different brands. As long as it is bright red I am happy. Recently though I have branched out and my most a worn at the moment would be between ELF bubble gum pink and Barry M erm....the grey one. Another contender would also have been Revlon's coral (tropical something) but it is a loser because it is overpriced considering the crap quality. But yes, for people who know me, my nails are definitely my outlet for colour.

Most Worn Shoes - Hands down, most worn shoes are the Primark 'Chanel' ballet pumps, with chain and without. I have 30 pairs (well I've bought 30 pairs, some are in the bin, some still have the tags on). I love them. I don't know what I will do if i ever run out. Whenever I go Primark I buy 4 pairs at a time (i love bulk buying). And when i wear them i usally work on a 4 pair rotation too, either 2 black and 2 cream, or 2 black and 1 cream and 1 nude. So that is why it looks like I am always wearing the same shoe!!

Most Worn Hair Product - Hair serum, either pantene 'smooth and sleek' (for after I've dried/straightened my hair) or Schwarzkopf 'Supersoft' for wet/dry hair. It is the best serum in the world, I've been using it for a few years but it's been discontinued now (I bulked buy so I still have one thank god!). I've bought a possible replacement (Loreal had a sale) but though i haven't used it yet I am not feeling optimistic - I don't think anything could be as great. And the other product is a recent addition to my hair care routine but much needed; its Loreal Studio Hot straight. It's something to do with heat protection. I tend to think this 'scientific' talk is mumbo jumbo but i must say my hair is better/has not gotten even crispier since I've been using it. And it's cheap so yay.

Most Worn Perfume - Perfume!! Well...I do wear perfume for the benefit of people around me. My all time favourite is Jean Paul Gaultier. I've worn it for many many years so I have had whiffs of it and shocked everytime by how i love the smell. At the moment I'm wearing something by Calvin Klein but to be honest I've never smelt it so not sure if it is good or not. I also keep perfumes at work in my pink flowerpot that I keep my pens in so they're usually random things like Next 'Pink' or 'Define', again I haven't smelt them so I hope they are decent.

Most Worn Handbags - Let me start by saying I love handbags. I'd say they were my biggest indulgence. It doesn't matter how fat or crap you are feeling, a handbag will make it better. I know people say this about shoes, but being fat does effect shoe-buying, and you can't wear glittery stilletto's with your pj's and feel great, whereas you can be carrying a great handbag and wearing my I heart NY outfit/leggings and still feel like a superstar. So, this was a hard category for me. Bear in mind, these tags aren't asking for favourites but things most worn. The obvious 'winner' by 2430424542 miles is my Louis Vuitton that was handed down to me by my mum. They don't sell them anymore but it's most similiar to the Speedy but softer/less rigid. It is the greatest bag ever but quite a random shape/size for me. Generally I like massive bags, beach tote type but my LV is perfect. It's big enough for all my junk inc some paperwork, not including my laptop and it's small enough not to be too chavvy. Interestingly, my most wanted but least worn bag ever is my LV Neverfull. The only LV (minus purses) that I've ever bought myself as opposed to nicked off my mum makes me want to cry everytime i see it. I saw it in a magazine and tore out the page and stuck it on my wall. Almost exactly 1 year later i bought it. I've now had it for nearly 2 years and and I think I've used it 3 times. What a bloody waste of money. I could have paid for 7 years life insurance. I could have paid half my monthly mortgage repayment. It's in pristine condition just sitting there mocking me. And every week I put my junk in it, but just as I'm about to leave I end up sticking my junk back into something else.

Ok I better stop lamenting for now.

Bye!

Who nose Penny?

So...how does this work? Will anyone ever read this?

I just need somewhere to pour my heart, soul and garbage into. So here I am. I hope I can keep this up, because generally speaking I am very good at giving up.

Introductions first I guess.
I'm Penny. And blah blah blah. I think I will do introductions another day.

What I need to get off my chest is my anosmia (I have no sense of smell). 5 senses. Sight. Hearing. Touch. Taste. Smell. The first 3 as I've listed are seen as the biggies. Not being able to smell is not tragic, it's just blah. *shrugs*.

To be honest, the most common time it bothers me is when someone says, "oh gosh...smell my wrist..new perfume...isn't it great?!" I never really know what to say. To me, that question is like asking "How are you?" - no one cares or wants to hear your answer. So usually I make a smelling noise with my nose near the wrist and say "woooow that's nice", and usually this works and the (presumably) nice smelling person starts talking about something else but occasionally I get the few who want to wax lyrical about the perfume or past perfumes or new perfumes or blah blah perfume and then I have to say, STOP!!! I can't smell. They say, WHAT?" Me: "I can't smell. Anything. Please change the subject or go talk to someone who can smell".

I don't know anyone else with anosmia personally, but my doctors says loads of people have the problem and there are worse things that I could have/lack. Yeah, tell me that when there's a gas leak.

Just to clarify, I've been anosmic since birth but I can smell random things at random times. So luckily for me, I've smelt (amongst many things) fresh cut grass, eggy farts, burnt bacon, burnt toast(I'm not a good cook - but I'll get to that in a minute), chocolate cake, coffee....etc. I don't know how it works. For example, once I was with my friend in Superdrugs and she was smelling shampoo's, she knows I can't smell but she lets me have a sniff so i don't feel left out...but anyway, bottle number 3 is waved under my nose and suddenly I'm like "wow I can smell. It's nice!" and 2 seconds later she sticks another bottle under my nose and asks which one I prefer - in those 2 seconds my smell was gone. Likewise, I can be sitting in a restaurant for 2 hours and then suddenly say "mmmhhhh that smells nice", even when the dish has been in front of me for ages. Unfortunately, this might only happen once every 3 months, sometimes longer, and it can make you feel very isolated.

Sometimes I see it as a blessing, sometimes a curse. I'm glad I miss out on farts and poo smells in public spaces *gag* But it has a terrible effect with me and food/in the kitchen. As I touched upon, when I'm cooking I can't smell if something is burning, so sometimes it can be burning for ages. If something has gone off I can't detect it, I have to depend on my eyes and obviously for foodie germs, the nose trumps eyes any day, so i suffer from food poisoning a lot. A lot a lot a lot.

I am scared of the vulnerability that anosmia can cause. Gas leaks and fires are my argh factors. So I have loads of alarms and detectors (even though I live in a tiny box of an apartment but better safe then sorry!!)

Sometimes I wish that I did have a 'normal' sense of smell - maybe it's smell envy but i think being able to smell other people can help build a bond. I'm not necessarily talking about anything wink wink nudge nudge, I just mean being families, between friends. I don't know what my parents smell like, I can't pull up a smell memory. I don't know what my closest friends smell like. Maybe they have a bad case of B.O and I should find better smelling friends - who knows?! I don't know what my friend's babies smell like. And at times like that I wish I really could, cos they look like they smell like heaven.

Oh Well. I'm glad to have got that off my chest. I've never really acknowledged this subject before, it's usually an afterthought so I am happy that for once my anosmia got first billing. My nose might be useless but it's still loved by me.

Well, thank you for reading. Love your senses, whether you have just the 1 or all 5 (or 6 lol).

Bye!